BP meds ok with Thyroid S?: Hi I've been on... - Thyroid UK

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BP meds ok with Thyroid S?

tracyd59 profile image
28 Replies

Hi

I've been on tablets since 2003 for familial high BP. My mum died from a heart attack in 2000. And my GP at the time (2003) thought it prudent to prescribe them as my BP was high. They are ARB tablets (angiotensin receptor ll blockers).

Will this medication interfere with Thyroid S ?

I did read on this site that beta-blockers can affect thyroid meds. Just wondering this applies to ARB tablets too.

And I'm also now wondering if it was undiagnosed Hashi's that was the cause of the high BP in the first place, rather than familial high BP. My Hashi's wasn't discovered till 2005. Oh well... I'll never know the answer to that😕.

Thank you.

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tracyd59 profile image
tracyd59
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28 Replies

I have taken both (beta blockers and Thyroid-S, that is), without any problems. I take all my meds in the morning for the sake of conveniency.

tracyd59 profile image
tracyd59 in reply to

Thanks anna69.

JOLLYDOLLY profile image
JOLLYDOLLY

I have border line BP (seems to have inherited from Grandmother) but I was on beta blockers for a while. As far as I know, it was ok did not interfere with absorption of thyroxine etc. But I do take thyroid medication separately from other medication.

FlippinThyroid profile image
FlippinThyroid

I started taking lio t3 before Christmas(low and slow) until I realized that this change in meds made my bp both sys/dia high. I have since returned to levo (t4) and am seeing a slow reduction in both sys/dia readings. I believe that my hashi is behind my bp issues which are almost always severe however, I am yet to have that confirmed by the consultant. I will be seeing him in Feb to discuss and will drop by here with what he says.

tracyd59 profile image
tracyd59 in reply to FlippinThyroid

Thanks FlippinThyro. It'll be interesting to see what the consultant makes of it. Cheers.

blondpalomino profile image
blondpalomino in reply to FlippinThyroid

Hi FlippinThyroid,

I was the opposite - I went from having T3 and thyroxine to just thyroxine, and my blood pressure went up, with big fluctuations. I though it was because I no longer had the T3, but now my BP has stabilised after 2 months, I am thinking maybe it happened because of the change in Thyroid medication, not which medication it was.

In the book that came with my blood pressure monitor it says high BP can be caused by "endocrine disturbances",so maybe if you had stayed on the T3 your BP would have gradually stabilised again.

FlippinThyroid profile image
FlippinThyroid in reply to blondpalomino

I was in hypertensive crisis on t3 so couldn't wait for disaster to happen. Just out of interest what meds and values are you taking?

blondpalomino profile image
blondpalomino in reply to FlippinThyroid

I was on thyroxine 75 mcg and 20 mcg T3 for 15 years,but because of the T3 cost the doctor asked me to do a trial of just thyroxine,of which I have 100 mcg.I have felt terrible all round for the last 2 months,but it seems to be improving a bit now, have to get my blood test done soon to see the results. Will probably ask if I can have perhaps half of the T3 back again if she will fund it.

FlippinThyroid profile image
FlippinThyroid in reply to blondpalomino

I am guessing the answer willbe no. Stopping it means it will have to go for approval higher up. That happened to me and now I have to goback to the consultant for funding. Nightmare!

blondpalomino profile image
blondpalomino in reply to FlippinThyroid

Hi, I have seen the Consultant, who says she is happy for me to go back on it if the doctor will fund it.

When I agreed to do the trial, I said to the doctor I was willing to try it if I could go back on the T3 if I wasn't well on just thyroxine, so I will remind her of this if she says no!

BonnieT profile image
BonnieT

I always ask my pharmacist questions regarding meds. They seem to know more than the docs sometimes.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministratorThyroid UK

You can look up the Sumary of Product Characteristics for most UK medicines here:

medicines.org.uk/emc/

They often have more information than Patient Information Leaflets.

Hillwoman profile image
Hillwoman

Betablockers affect cellular uptake of T3. I can come back here with a bit more info on this from my copy of Dr John Lowe's book, but I need my morning bucket of coffee first. :-)

Silver_Fairy profile image
Silver_Fairy in reply to Hillwoman

And the reason they are often used with hyperthyroidism.

Hillwoman profile image
Hillwoman in reply to Hillwoman

Okay, here's Dr Lowe, Chapter 3.2 of The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia, section on p. 411, Hypertension in Hypothyroidism:

"...Klein et al. listed the potential complications of hypothyroidism as angina pectoris, atrioventricular block, pericarditis, and diastolic hypertension. They wrote that even mild hypothyroidism might be associated with an increased risk of these complications...Correcting the thyroid hormone deficiency relieves the hypertension in most hypothyroid patients without other therapeutic measures. Most hypothyroid patients share the same hemodynamic status: reduced cardiac output and increased peripheral vascular resistance."

I know you are interested in ARB meds primarily, but here's some info about beta-blockers. In Chapter 5.2 of the same book, the section on p. 960, Choice of Beta-blocking Drugs:

"Propranolol, a beta-1 and beta-2 antagonist, tends to inhibit conversion by deiodinase of T4 to T3, and in this sense it may be considered an antithyroid drug."

He goes on to say that atenolol, a beta-1 antagonist, inhibits T4 to T3 conversion less than propranolol.

Marz mentions Dr Kendrick. My copy of Doctoring Data is missing :o but I remember that anti-hypertensives are described as not really having much impact on CVD, even if they lower BP. Reduction of high BP, like the reduction of cholesterol, is really a "surrogate end-point".

Marz profile image
Marz

Raised BP can be a symptom of both low and high thyroid. Often a symptom of something not quite right in the body - magnesium ?? Many of us are low.

The Magnesium Miracle - by Carolyn Dean - is an excellent read.

Good T3 levels needed for the heart to be healthy 😊

TSH110 profile image
TSH110 in reply to Marz

@Marz

Yes my blood pressure was always very low it was put down to me being very fit - which I was - but I am sure it was being affected by undiagnosed hypothyroidism. I get a lot less heart pains on ThyroidS than I got on Levo which were really persistent on it.

Silver_Fairy profile image
Silver_Fairy

List of drugs

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatm...

Mandlou profile image
Mandlou

Bit of topic but how do you find thyroid s? I think i need a different thyroid med i got mine {edited by Admin} and not sure they wirk that well. Called thiroyd x

shaws profile image
shawsAdministrator in reply to Mandlou

I have amended your post slightly :) no information must be posted on the open forum of where to source prescription medications.

If you'd like information from the forum, put up a new post and ask for a Private Message to be sent to you and you will see a red 'bubble' on the top line and that will take you into any responses you get.

Chippysue profile image
Chippysue

have you investigated what these blood pressure tablets do? How can a doctor continually prescribe them when your phone may be fine without them?They will. Or prescribe the thyroid medication which is best for you (most of them) but they will prescribe the drugs which they are incentivised to and that's it, leave you on them for life.

There are many natural ways to reduce blood pressure, doctors should tell you to do those first!

Sue

Marz profile image
Marz in reply to Chippysue

Agree ! According to Dr Kendrick - during his career they keep lowering the levels of blood pressure in the same way they keep lowering levels of cholesterol before required treatment. All in the name of being able to prescribe more drugs and more profit for Big Pharma - tiz a scandal ....

Hillwoman profile image
Hillwoman in reply to Marz

You're right. My BP range hasn't changed very much over the years, but the threshold for "compulsory treatment", as a practice nurse described it to me, keeps dropping.

Glynisrose profile image
Glynisrose

Take thyroid meds away from anything else.

elizabethfleming profile image
elizabethfleming

i also have high blood presure and take thyroid and blood presure meds together as never been told any diffrent was in hosoital for a month after a stroke and was given them together so thinking it must be ok or hospital would nt have done it why not phone gp or chemist and ask as they would no

Eddie83 profile image
Eddie83

If I were in your position, I would make sure my FT3 and FT4 are at appropriate places in their normal ranges. Then drop the BP medicine and see if your bod can maintain on its own. The link between thyroid and CVD is pretty strong.

CSmithLadd profile image
CSmithLadd

Used to be that hypothyroidism was investigated when high blood pressure and high cholesterol appeared. In most cases, getting the patient sufficient thyroid hormone took care of the high BP and the high cholesterol problems. It is well known and described in medical journals that hypothyroidism is a cause of high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.

Of course all was forgotten by doctors with the advent of Levothyroxine and using TSH as a measuring tool for diagnosis of hypothyroidism.

Yet statins are still used recklessly by doctors because they are paid to prescribe them. Statins are very bad for your health. Statins work by preventing your liver from making cholesterol. They also increase your risk of diabetes by raising your blood sugar. No thanks!

articles.mercola.com/sites/...

Beta-blockers are counterproductive to optimal thyroid function as they interfere with the conversion of the inactive thyroid hormone T4 to the active thyroid hormone T3. As someone else here said, this is why beta-blockers are used in reversing hyperthyroidism.

"Beta blockers can also affect your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, causing a slight increase in triglycerides and a modest decrease in high-density lipoprotein, the "good" cholesterol." mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/beta-blockers/art-20044522?pg=2

Mind you, we need cholesterol for the production of every hormone in the body. Second to the brain, the endocrine glands (like the thyroid) need cholesterol the most.

metabolichealing.com/cholesterol-your-body-is-incapable-of-making-hormones-without-it/

"Hypothyroidism is also a risk factor for statin-induced myopathy (SIM)3,4 and even spontaneous myopathy.5–8 Muscle aches, cramps, and weakness are the typical clinical features, irrespective of the precipitant.3"

"... Second, use of statins in hypothyroid patients is dangerous. Although the biochemical mechanism of both hypothyroid myopathy and SIM remain unclear, hypothyroidism increases the risk of SIM.3,4"

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1949076/

For the vast majority of those with hypothyroidism, their blood pressure and cholesterol will reduce their respective numbers on their own as thyroid hormone is replaced and absorbed in the body to make sufficient T3 for every cell of the body.

So we don't need statins or beta-blockers. But doctors are pill pushers. Most can't see beyond the next bonus check or fabulously exotic trip as a reward from Big Pharma. Their marriage is based on greed and keeping people sick so they all can be richer. It's very sad, but true. No more being their "Cash Cow" for this girl.

Doctors don't pay attention! I was on both stains and beta-blockers until I got educated in what my doctors did not know or did not care to know. A seemingly stark onset of high BP and high cholesterol warrants investigating for low thyroid function. My "sudden onset" of these "maladies" was hypothyroidism following the removal of my thyroid due to Graves' Disease. I don't think any of them even remotely thought about connecting any dots. They see high BP: "Here's your Beta-blocker." They see high cholesterol: "Here's your Statin."

Doesn't matter about your history! Doesn't matter how dangerous it is to prescribe it to you. All some of the them know is the ring of their money making machine as they deposit their booty in the bank. Because it has been looted from us. Right along with our health.

It's the same with PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) like Prevacid, Prilosec, etc. Most people have low stomach acid if they have indigestion, GERD, or acid reflux. But doctors are paid big money prescribing it to any and all who come to them complaining of what the patient thinks is excess acid.

Without stomach acid, vitamins and minerals are not absorbed. Nor are other medications! This is why PPIs are not to be taken for years and decades on end. But doctors continue to prescribe them that way. Even all the tons of Class Action Lawsuits against them doesn't stop them. They know that little money they have to pay out means nothing compared to the billions they make with the second most prescribed drugs in the civilized world.

It is a viscous cycle that allows doctors to "discover" side effects of their own malpractice and then have the nerve to give them names like IBS, Fibromyalgia, CFS, Crohn's etc. These symptoms are all real and they do exist (believe me, I know, I've had them all)... but they are not in themselves a malady. Something else is wrong and those are just symptoms rather than "Syndromes."

But "Syndromes" get a name and then they get a pill designed for it. They are created from malpractice of doctors treating only symptoms and never getting down to the root cause of a patient's problem. Most of the time it comes down to nutrition or medicine that is adversely affecting vital body functions. Without vitamins and minerals we are a shell of ourselves. Without proper absorption of vitamins and minerals we cannot absorb and make use (convert) of hormones either.

But when the body has sufficient T3 throughout the body then it all works beautifully. Conventional medicine does not recognize this fact. However, it is no accident they never check Free T3. Deep down they know there will be no more checks from Big Pharma if every suffering person had enough T3 in their bodies.

No more the "Cash Cow" to doctors, I'm feeling so much better after firing them all and ridding my body of all their poisons.

Oh my! Apologies. Passionate about this subject, you bet! Conventional medicine with its head in the sand nearly killed me. If you are hypothyroid, you owe it to yourself to read up on statins and beta-blockers. Check that... if you are human and have no maladies at all... read up on statins and beta-blockers. They are very detrimental to most people whether hypothyroid or not.

Knowledge is truly power.

Hugs!

tracyd59 profile image
tracyd59 in reply to CSmithLadd

CSmithladd - Wow! Very interesting post. Really got me thinking. Thank you so much.

Apart from BP meds they also put me on statins concurrently.

Hypothyroidism was never investigated at the time while I was still living in London (2003)

In late 2003 I emigrated to Australia and by 2005 I was a wreck. Weight gain, brain fog, joint pain, fatigue etc. Saw a consultant who confirmed Hashi's and I had a salivary gland biopsy which confirmed Sjögren's Syndrome. But they still kept me on BP and Cholesterol meds. And they added T4 to the mix, telling me that would sort out all my problems. I wish!!

I still felt like crap most of the time. I tried losing weight, exercising etc to feel better but nothing helped.

Then last July 2016 I stopped my statins-cold turkey. Within a week I felt amazing. I didn't tell my GP because I couldn't bear all the hassle she'd give me. I started taking Coq10 to help with cholesterol. That great feeling lasted 6 weeks or so and then I started feeling crap again.

Long story short, I'm still taking the BP meds and T4. I'll be having a fingerprint blood test in the UK very soon and I'll post the results on here and start trusting myself to sort out my health instead of relying on the medical profession.

Thanks again for your illuminating post!

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